Five Essential Reasons to Keep Naptime in the - Southern Early ...

learning, children may very well lose
the entire afternoon instead.
What Early Childhood
Educators Can Do
Rather than decreasing or eliminating
naptime for young children,
naptime should be seen as a necessary
component of any curriculum
because it enhances children’s cognitive,
social, behavioral, and academic
skills. At least one-half to one hour of
naptime is recommended for all children
to supplement the likely
amount of missed nighttime sleep.
Even if children do not fall into a
deep sleep, quiet time provides children
with the opportunity to decompress
and relax. These are some other
ways teachers of young children can
address the topic.
Early childhood educators are
urged to conduct a simple sleep survey
with families to gather information
about children’s sleep habits
(Figure 1). This information could
be a useful addition to the child’s
assessment portfolio.
Pediatricians rarely talk with families
about the importance of children’s
sleep habits, nor do they typically
inform them of the possible links
between insufficient sleep and ill
health, behavioral adjustments, or academic
performance (Blunden et al.,
2004; Kahn et al., 1989). Early childhood
professionals may wish to consider
including these topics—and
children’s health care providers—in
family meetings, workshops, or parent
conferences.
Sleep-related education should
also be integrated into the health curriculum
to teach children about the
benefits of sleep, just as they learn
about good nutrition (Amschler &
McKenzie, 2005).
Subjects & Predicates
By reducing or eliminating naptime, will young children be able to spend that extra
time in learning activities that enhance academic performance? The evidence is clear
that children who are sleep deprived are unable to function as well as they could, so the
lack of naptime is actually counter-productive. Rather than gaining an extra half hour
of learning, children may very well lose the entire afternoon instead.
Observations of behaviors are
essential to watch for signs of lack of
sleep in young children such as
impulsivity, aggression, inattention,
moodiness, poor concentration, and
acting out (Owens et al., 2005).
Keep a checklist of these indicators
close by for quick reference as a
reminder to check on a child’s sleep
history when these behaviors are evident,
and in a journal to determine
if any patterns develop.
Involve families in a discussion
about these methods for monitoring
children’s behavior. They may
wish to keep a similar journal at
Signs of lack of sleep
• impulsivity
• aggression
• inattention
• moodiness
• poor concentration
• acting out
home to provide a bigger picture
about children’s sleep.
Young children who live in
poverty may be at higher risk for
developmental and behavioral problems
due to lack of medical care for
sleep problems (Stein et al., 2001).
Besides helping parents understand
8 Volume 36, Number 3 DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD Fall 2008